back & forth
by badgalbri
Summary: That's when I turn to look at her and I mean really look at her. Her skin was a light sweet caramel and she had long curly mocha brown hair that reached her lower back now. She always had a few strands in her face but she never moved them. Her lips were a perfect pink and her nose was small but detailed with a few freckles. And her eyes, they were amazing.
1. Chapter 1

**Duncan's POV (05/10/2015)**

 _*Flashback to 07/25/2013*_

 _"I'm sorry Duncan but I don't think I can do a long distance relationship. It's too much stress on us."_

 _"But what about what I want?" I ask irritated. How could she just throw everything away?_

 _"I"ll always love you but I'm going to New York for college in a couple of months and you'll be here. We'll still be friends."_

 _"Don't give me that bullshit."_

 _"I'm so sorry Duncan."_

 _*Flashback ends*_

I wake up from my nap and dream about my ex-girlfriend who was my first love. Can't believe I was 18 and so in love back then. I immediately pick up my phone to check the time. 3:28pm. I open my messages so I go text my best friend Geoff.

 _Duncan: So who's going to the cookout?_

 _Geoff: The fam and some of my cousin's friends._

 _D: Ehhh..._

 _G: Man it's free food_

 _D: You right, I'll be there_

Later at 5:46pm

 _D: Wya? I'm here_

 _G: Basement_

I walk into the basement to see Geoff sitting at the table by the couch.

"Wassup man?" I stick my hand out to dap him. He stands up and daps me up in response.

"Nothing much. Should I have told you your ex was gonna be here?" My eyes immediately shoot across the room to look at her. Still beautiful as always but I try to play it cool.

"Nah, it's no biggie. Plus it's technically her cousin too so I'm not surprised," I respond to sound unbothered. But truthfully, I forgot they were even family and I didn't prepare myself to see her. I always hated that Geoff was her cousin but at least it was through a marriage that was now over.

"You talk to her recently?" I could tell Geoff was about to start digging into my situation with her but I wasn't in the mood. I wish I did talk to her though.

"A little after we broke up two years ago but not for the last year."

"You going to?"

"I don't know man but I'm bout to head to the bathroom real quick." I quickly get up and speed walk over to the bathroom. I don't even have to pee but my nerves are running wild. Maybe she won't see me and I won't have to speak. I walk out the bathroom to see Geoff with two new company, Courtney and her twin brother Sean. I was going to turn around but Sean caught my eye from the other side of the room. He immediately stands up with a smile and I know I have to go over and say something now.

"Wassup bro?" he says as we handshake.

"Nothing much man," I look down to see Courtney staring at me from her seat. "Hi Court," I try to say in the smoothest way possible.

"Hey Duncan," she stands up and gives an awkward hug. Well maybe it wasn't awkward and I just thought that because she's my ex.

"Way to make it awkward guys," Geoff blurts out as soon as we stop hugging. I was about to say something but Courtney lets out a laugh instead.

"Oh shut up Geoff," she responds as she sits down. I take the seat next to her since it's the only one left. I'm still not sure if I rather be sitting next to her or on the other side of the room.

"I'll be right back guys," Sean says as he gets up to talk to DJ. Great. now it's just me, Courtney and Geoff. This is not good. Courtney immediately turns to me so I assume she's about to say something and I'm prepared for the worst.

"So how's life Duncan?" she starts off. "It's been awhile since we've talked." She sounded sad like she was regretful, I knew I was.

"Yeah, it has. I've just been focusing on school so my grades stay in order," I say to sound nonchalant but we all knew I was lying.

"Thinking about you," Geoff coughs under his breath and I immediately give him the eye. He responds with an innocent face like he's doing nothing wrong.

"But life is good for the most part," I finish saying.

"Sucks without you," Geoff quietly adds on.

"Bro," I say in an assertive and annoyed voice as I turn to face him.

"Alright, alright. I'll stop." I sigh in relief but he walks away, which leaves me and Courtney by ourselves. I thought he was going to stop talking not leave us alone.

"Soooo," she begins to say. "Guess it's just me & you." And for the first time, I said something I truly meant.

"That's the way I like it anyways." She immediately does her cute little laugh. She always does it when she's nervous. "You don't have a boyfriend right? I don't wanna be disrespectful." _Please say no, please say no._

"No, me & Toby broke up last month. No biggie & it was on mutual grounds," she responds but there's no sadness in her eyes. Maybe she's just putting up a front or maybe she broke up with him cause of lost feelings.

"That's good… do still keep in contact?" i ask curiously.

"Yeah, he's one of my closest friends and we didn't want to ruin that."

Too bad that didn't work out for us…..

* * *

A/N: I know I keep moving around stories but who really cares? Started off kind of short but let me know what you think so far :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Duncan's POV (05/10/2015)**

Courtney and I just kept talking about life, old memories, and what we've been up to these last two years.

"You like New York?"

"I love it actually," she says cheerfully but her face instantly turns to regret. It hurt to know she was having so much fun up there but I could never wish sadness on her. "California still good?" she adds to change the topic.

"Yeah, everything's going well." And it was, I was the top of my class for my major.

"Computer science right?"

"You know it."

"And you tried to say you're not a nerd. You seem more of nerd than me now," she says with a smile. I smile back as soon as I see hers. It was always so genuine, so bright. "But guess what?"

"What?" I ask curiously, oblivious to what she's going to say.

"I haven't told anyone except Sean but I landed this fashion internship at Tom Ford. I'm just assistant to the market manager but if I stay on top of things, I should be assistant market manager in two years." She was smiling even harder than she was when she told me that joke about me being a nerd so that's how I knew she was happy.

"I'm so proud of you Court," I say as I reach out to give her a hug. "Quick question though, are assistant to market manager and assistant market manager not the same thing?" I ask confusingly as I let out a slight laugh.

"No dummy. Everyone always asks that though so don't feel bad. Think of assistant market manager as being the same as assistant vice president. It's higher than the assistant to the vice president."

"Oh I got you now. But it looks like life is going great for you." I was so happy for her but so mad I couldn't be there.

"Yeah it is, but I'm moving back home. It was too far away plus FIDM offered me a huge scholarship and there's great fashion capitals around here. So no more Pratt Institute for me."

"Wow, that's great. I guess I'll be seeing more of you."

"Is that okay with you?" she asked cautiously. Her eyes instantly gave this anxious look as she waited for me to answer but they relaxed soon enough when I said...

"Always." Her phone vibrates so she holds on her response to text someone real quick.

"Can you believe we've been talking for three hours, it's almost 9:30."

"Time flies when you have a good time, they say."

"That's true but I'm actually about to head out."

"Let me walk you to your car." I ask almost too eagerly. "Unless Sean is going with you," I add to make it sound more calm.

"No, I drove by myself. Sean is staying here tonight so yes, you can walk me to your car."

I walk upstairs while Courtney says her goodbyes to everyone. She meets me at the door and we walk down the street to her car. At this point, I don't want to be at the cookout any longer and there is somewhere I rather be so I text Geoff that I'm leaving too. We finally reach her car and Courtney turns to look at me after she unlocks it.

"So I guess I'll see you later?" she says with a smile.

"Well maybe even sooner," I respond with a smirk on my face. "Come to the lake with me."

"Right now?" she asks surprised.

"Yeah, I'll keep you safe plus it's a gated community." She has a worrisome face until I say something else that instantly make her smile. "It'll be like old times."

"Fine, I guess that's okay."

"You mind if we drop my car off and ride together?"

"No it's cool."

Courtney gets in her car while I go walk over to mine. It takes about 5 minutes to get to my house and it's just enough time for me to think about everything. _Why was I taking Courtney to the lake? Do I still like her? No man, you love her. And I want her back._

We reach my house and I immediately get out to go get in Courtney's car. The lake is just around the corner so it's a short drive. We pulled up to the top of the hill that looks over the lake and some of the houses. We used to come here all the time in summer and sometimes the winter. We would just sit here and talk.

"It's so beautiful out here," Courtney says to break the silence.

That's when I turn to look at her and I mean really look at her. Her skin was a light sweet caramel and she had long curly mocha brown hair that reached her lower back now. She always had a few strands in her face but she never moved them. Her lips were a perfect pink and her nose was small but detailed with a few freckles. And her eyes, they were amazing. They were a dark deep onyx that glistened in certain lights.

"It sure is," I respond while still staring at her, She immediately looks at me and lets out her nervous laugh.

"Don't be such a cliche."

"I'm sorry," I say sheepishly while rubbing the back of my neck.

"There's no need to apologize, you're just saying how you feel." I move around in my seat so I could be closer to her.

"I really missed you Court," I say as we still look right at each other.

"I missed you too," she says quietly. I was going to keep going with the sweet stuff but there was things I needed to know. I instantly moved back and looked forward at the lake.

"Then why did you leave me? Why go find someone new?"

"Duncan.." she starts off.

"Don't 'Duncan' me, I deserve to know," I say already sounding annoyed.

"You knew I wanted to go to New York, my dream school was there. And a long-distance relationship would of tore us apart. I was trying to do what's right Duncan," she responds and I can hear the sadness drip between her words. I could tell she was sorry but that doesn't change what happened.

"You don't know that."

"So what." I could tells she was getting defensive but I didn't care.

"So what's the real reason then?" I could hear the bitterness in my voice.

"Forget it."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Courtney please, tell me." At this point, my anger is slipping away and I just want to know why. I was staring at her but her back was to me. She slowly turned around and it was awhile before she said anything.

"I didn't want to be left alone like my mom was. I never knew my dad and I don't want to after what he did to my mom. For over 10 years, she was by herself before she met my stepdad and they were on and off before they got married. So many people walked out on her that she only depended on me and Sean sometimes. So when college came around, I had a choice. I decided that if I left, you couldn't do the same and leave me. I saved us both that pain. You got over it, you had friends here to help you. I focused on school and fashion to help me. We're both good now so drop it. I put on a brave face and stayed strong because that's what my mom did." I reach my hand out for her cheek and rub her face.

"Courtney, I wouldn't of left you.. I love you."

"I love you too Duncan but-." And that's when I couldn't take it anymore, I just dove right in for the kiss and that night we made love in her car.


	3. Chapter 3

**Duncan's POV (05/21/2015)**

The last week and a half had been great. Court and I were getting along well, so well that I thought we might end up back together. I woke up that morning with a text from her, as always, so I laid in my bed and just kept texting her.

 _C: Morning Duncan :)_

 _D: Morning Court :* Hope you have a great day!_

 _C: You too! Wyd today?_

 _D: Idk yet, wassup?_

 _C: Let's hang out, there's this sushi place downtown I wanna go to_

 _D: Aite I'm down. What time?_

 _C: Around 6ish. I'll pick you up._

 _D: See you then_

She didn't respond after about 10 minutes so I put my phone down and decide to fall back asleep. I wake up again to look at my phone to see it's 2:37. Sheesh I slept in. I went downstairs to see my younger sister Lauren and twin sister Carly making lunch.

"You guys are the best!" I say as I grab a french fries. Lauren instantly smacks it out of my hand back onto the plate and I just look back in shock.

"Who said any of it was for you?" So rude but not surprising at all. Lauren was sarcastic and the biggest asshole but you gotta love her, she always showed love when it was needed. "You know I'm just kidding stupid. You can pick up whatever you want but leave some for Miley and the younger ones.

"Miley's home? She's not staying at her boyfriend's place anymore?" Miley was my other younger sister. Her and Lauren were the best of friends.

"Yeah, she does still live her sometimes." I shrug and start to grab a plate for food. My phone vibrates as I'm scooping the rest of my fries and see that my friend Tom is calling me. I put my plate down and answer the call.

"What's up man?"

"Hey Duncan, want to do a big favor for me?" I stood there in silence for awhile before I gave an answer that we both knew was coming.

"No."

"Please man, I really need you to do this for me."

"Well what's the favor?" I ask annoyed.

"I can't tell you."

"What the fuck Tom? How do you expect me to do a favor for you if you don't tell em what it is."

"I just can't but it's really serious and it needs to happen tonight."

"Tonight? Well what time?"

"6:30 or 7ish."

"I can't do that time man, I'm busy."

"Busy doing what?" he asks curiously.

"I'm going -," I start to say but stop myself when I realized no one knew about me and Courtney, not even Geoff.

"Going where?"

"Um nowhere, that should be fine." I hang up the phone and instantly regret the whole conversation. I can always hang out with Courtney another day, even tomorrow. Plus Tom said it's serious but Courtney is super stubborn. Hopefully she understands. After I finish eating, I grab my phone to text Courtney.

* * *

 **Courtney's POV** **(05/13/2015)**

I was picking out an outfit from my closet for tonight when I get a text from Duncan. My face instantly lights up but falls when I see his message.

 _D: I'm sorry Court but I don't think I can go anymore._

Already annoyed, I text him back super fast to get to the bottom of this.

 _C: Um ok… why not?_

 _D: Tom said he really needs to see me tonight, said it's something serious_

 _C: Well have fun, I'll just be eating sushi by myself lol_

 _D: Sorry babe :*_

I don't even bother responding at this point. I just throw my clothes on the ground and lay on my bed to open my laptop. I turn on Netflix and by the time I finish an episode, I get another text. I was seriously hoping it was Duncan telling me he was joking but instead it was my best friend Heather. Our moms are also best friends so we basically grew up together.

 _H: You won't believe what I'm seeing right now_

 _C: Believe what?_

 _H: Duncan & Gwen are going on a date. MAJOR DOWNGRADE._

My first instinct is to immediately text Duncan and flip out but I decide to get all the information from Heather first. Gwen was Tom's little sister so was this his way of lying to me? I haven't even told Heather about me and Duncan so I play it cool and try to act unbothered by the whole mess.

 _C: Seriously? Lol that's interesting_

 _C: Wait wya?_

 _H: His house. I was hanging with Lauren when I heard him telling Carly he was going to pick her up._

 _C: Such a cute couple lol_

Finally deciding I had heard enough from Heather about Duncan's date, I decide to text him myself. He offered no explanation except lies but now I know everything.

 _C: Have fun on your date with Gwen. Nice to know how easy it is for you to lie to my face._

 _D: It's not even like that Princess_

 _C: Don't call me that._

 _C: And so it's not you cancelling our sushi date to go out with Gwen?_

 _D: Well when you put it like that_

 _C: Exactly_

 _D: Can you chill out_

 _C: No cause you're a complete imbecile_

 _D: You know what, I don't have to explain myself to you_

 _C: What's that supposed to mean?_

 _D: We're not even a couple_

 _D: And I will have fun tonight, trust me_

 _K: Wow_

 _K: Please forget I ever existed_

 _D: Gladly and easy_

'Gladly and easy.' That was his response instead of apologizing. I was done with Duncan and I deserved someone better but that didn't mean I wasn't sad about what just happened.

* * *

 **NO ONE'S POV** **(05/28/2015)**

 _D: Morning Court, can we talk? I don't like the way things went down the other week_

*three hours later*

D: _I miss you_

*five hours later*

 _D: You're really gonna ignore me_

* * *

 **NO ONE'S POV** **(06/01/2015)**

 _D: Courtney, come on. Just talk to to me please_

* * *

 **NO ONE'S POV** **(06/09/2015)**

 _D: I give up. Have a nice life, I'll be happy with Gwen anyways._

That was the least message I got from him for another year.


	4. Chapter 4

**Courtney's POV** **(06/11/2016)**

After all that chaos, I dedicated the last year to my job. They started giving me more tasks and because one of my superiors was retiring next year, I was getting moved up to assistant market manager like I planned. I went out of my way to outshine my coworkers and it paid off. Duncan had become the last thing on mind. The only issues were that he was good friends with Sean and I was really good friends with Carly and Lauren. And guess whose house I had to go to for a sleepover tonight? I purposely stayed away from that house for the past year especially because I never knew when Duncan or Gwen would be there. Can't believe he's still with her to this day and it's officially been a year now. It gives me comfort to know his sisters liked no one else but me as his girlfriend and that Carly hates Gwen. After constant contemplating, I texted my group chat that consisted of Carly, Lauren, Miley, Heather, Bridgette, and Tiffany. Bridgette had been my best friend since middle school and Tiffany became my best friend when she used to date my brother Sean. That ended pretty bad but I didn't care. They all were waiting in anticipation for my answer all day.

 _Court: Guess whose going to the sleepover tonight_

 _H: Good to know you're not a chicken lol_

 _B: Lay off on her, this could be difficult for her_

 _T: Well you know I got your back_

 _H: She'll be fine, we'll all be there_

 _Carly: Bad news guys_

 _M: Please don't_

 _T: Can you spare us the news please, I don't want it to ruin my mood_

 _Carly: Gwen is coming tonight. Duncan told her to come over, guess he thought Court wouldn't be here *eye roll emoji*_

 _T: And my mood is ruined_

 _M:_ _Tell him she can't come_

 _L: She can't sit with us like shit lol_

 _T: But seriously, no one wants her there_

 _H: Well she is friends with Bridge_

 _B: Shut up, our parents are friends. I can't help that_

 _Court: Tell me you're joking_

 _Carly: Wish I could and y'all know I'm not happy either_

 _M: You better still come, it'll show you're the bigger person_

 _H: Or petty_

 _L: Miley's right, ignore Heather lol_

 _Court: I'll still be there_

 _T: Let's get it!_

 _Carly: The gang is back together_

 _L: #SQUAD_

I stop texting the chat back so I could pack my bag because I had to be at Carly's house in an hour and I had to look tf good just to rub it in Duncan's face or would that make me petty? I text the chat back to get their opinion.

 _Court: I know this is a sleepover but how cute should I get?_

 _T: Show the fuck out but in a chill manner_

 _B: Can you just wear sweats like me?_

 _M: Chill is fine_

 _H: I'm with Tiffany_

 _Carly: No comment_

 _L: Forget that, get cute sis. I"ll get cute with you_

* * *

 **Courtney's POV** **(06/11/2016)**

I settle with the majority and got cute but in a chill way. I put on my pink Puma slides and grey joggers with my loose white V-neck that still showcased my boobs. I threw a tad bid of mascara and a gloss just to make it a bit cuter. It took me about 10 minutes to get their house and I parked in the street behind Heather's BMW. She's so spoiled. I text the chat that I'm here as I walk up the drive way to the house. Lauren open the door as I walk into the house to see everyone was already here. I knew Duncan was having Gwen over but not his friends. His friends with us was not a good mixture and made things very tense. Seeing everyone made me ready prepared to kill myself from the disaster waiting to happen. Over on the couch was Gwen, Sean and Tiffany's ex Ben sitting down. Lauren walked over to the kitchen where Carly, Miley, Duncan, Geoff and Bridgette were standing. My ex Toby was standing at the counter while his girlfriend Jenny was sitting in front of him. Derek and Heather were arguing to figure what to put on TV. Lastly, was Tiffany sitting on her phone. She immediately lit up when she saw me.

"Thank God you are here. I thought I would die," Tiffany says nervously.

"Why? These are your friends too," I respond confused.

"They are and I love them but your brother and Ben are here. Cam is not going to like this and honestly, I don't either. Plus I know they don't either and they probably want to kill me right here." Sean and Tiffany were on and off for two years until we were 20. She got with Ben a month later before ending it after 3 months because she started fucking Cam again. Cam is Heather's brother as well as Tiffany's current boyfriend of 8 months but they used to date awhile ago.

"You'll be fine and I'll try to handle my brother," I reassure her. I drop my bag off in the corner before walking back over to Tiffany. After talking for awhile, I make eye contact with Toby.

"Hey Toby, how you doing?"

"Hey Court. I'm do-," he begins before Jenny cuts him off.

"What do you think you're doing?" she directly asks him before turning my way. "You lost the right to speak to Toby a long time ago."

"Calm down, I was just saying hello."

"Well turn it into a goodbye."

"Or what?"

"Look here bitch, I don't know who the fuck you thought you were talking to-"

"No, I don't know who you thought you were talking to," Tiffany interjects. "Watch the name calling before we have a problem too."

"Here you go. Always trying to save someone cause no one wants to save your hoe ass," Sean says from the couch.

"Sean!" I hiss out. "Come on now bro."

"Fuck no, she deserves it."

"Damn right she does," Ben adds in.

At this point, everyone is focused in on the area that includes me, Tiffany, Jenny and Toby. I try arguing with my brother to chill him out but I end up caught in an argument with Jenny again. She keeps trying to get Toby involved but he remains neutral on the side. Tiffany begins arguing with Sean and Ben while Tom tries to get them to chill out and Heather comes over to back Tiffany up. Gwen eventually comes over to tell her brother to let them argue out cause Tiffany is a hoe. Bridgette immediately comes to Tiffany's defense and tells Gwen to mind her own business and Carly agrees. Somehow, while I was going back and forth with Jennifer, Carly and Gwen get into a real argument. It gets to the point where I stop entertaining Jenny to see what's going on.

"You just can't handle the fact that I'm number 1 in your brother's life now huh?" Duncan stood off to the side as they argued, just looking annoyed at the power struggle happening.

"Bitch please. You will never," Carly laughs.

"No, you will never have what I have... a boyfriend that adores me, siblings that love me, parents that care for me."

"You sound stupid, I have all of that."

"You sure about that? You sure they weren't forced to take you in?" Everyone went silent after that. No one ever commented on the Harris family dynamic. And I mean ever. Carly immediately walked over to the steps before yelling back at us.

* * *

A/N: Time to explain the family situation. Brandon and Emmah are the parents of the Harris family. Out of all the kids, Emmah only gave birth to their older sister Devin, Lauren and their younger siblings Logan and Zoey with Brandon. They broke up awhile after having Devin and Brandon got with another woman for some months. He ended up back with Emmah and the woman gave birth to Duncan and Carly after him and Emmah got back together. Their mother died when they were 4 so Emmah adopted them. Miley is Brandon's best friend Zack and Meredith's daughter but they died in a car accident a year after the twins' mom so Brandon and Emmah adopted her.

Their ages = Devin is 23; Duncan, Carly, Courtney, Sean, Geoff and Tiffany are 21; Miley, Bridgette and Gwen 20; Lauren & Heather are 19.


	5. Chapter 5

**Duncan's POV** **(06/11/2016)**

"Get this bitch out of my house," Carly yelled as walking upstairs, presumably to her room. I grabbed Gwen and took her upstairs to my room. She sat on the bed as I closed the door. I stand there for a minute to get my thoughts together before saying anything.

"How could that even come out of your mouth?" I asked while still looking at the door.

"What? Carly has been walking around like royalty, acting like she can't be touched," she shrugged.

"So what? You were wrong."

"I can't believe you're taking her side over me! I'm your fucking girlfriend," Gwen yells back while standing up.

"That remark you made, isn't just directed at her. It's directed at me and Miley, as well. And I shouldn't have to explain this to you. She's my sister and my best friend of the last 21 years of my life. And she was right."

"She was not-" she started to argue.

"Do not cut me off, I wasn't done talking. You cannot disrespect my family and expect me to take it lightly. Nothing should take you to that point. I know she's sassy but my god."

"Don't you 'my god' me like you're so high and mighty. If you just take my side and support me, we would have no issues."

"But that's the thing Gwen, we always have issues. I don't even know who you are these days. You used to be this free-spirited, creative artist who never had a care in the world. And now, you've turned into this spiteful and jealous diva that nags about everything I do. I'll tell you I'm shopping with my little brother and you'll get irritated like who the fuck does that?"

"Cause I know you're lying."

"If I'm such a liar, then lets's not be together anymore. No one wants to be with a liar right?"

"Excuse me?"

"I should of done this earlier," I start saying but take a pause before I continue. "It's been a great year for us but I don't think we can do this any longer." There was a silence and no response so I took that as a go to keep talking. "Look Gwen, I love you. I won't stand here and deny that but this relationship is not meant for us. You literally just disrespected the fuck out my family. Plus you hate them and they hate you. You hate everything I do. You hate everyone I hang out with unless it's your brother and you get annoyed by that too. I need to be able to do my own things without having to worry you'll get upset if I run to the amusement park with my friends or to the movies with my little sister. You're fucking suffocating me. I won't live in a world like that."

"Wow Duncan, that's where we're at now? I gave you the best year of my life and this is what you do? I love you, I thought we would be together forever but I see that was all a lie now. You are the worst person I ever met in my life and I wish I never met you," she finished before she walked out of my bedroom. She shut the door and left me to myself. I walked over to my bed and just sat there.

 _I didn't even know what to think. Did I really break up with her? Did I really just throw the last year of my life into the trash?_ _Gwen was great, I loved her. She meant so much to me but the girl she was tonight, was not the girl I asked to be my girlfriend. Where did everything go wrong? How did I even let our relationship get this far and to this point of hostility and negativity? How did I let this relationship come between me & Courtney? I got to make this right.. I got to tell her how I feel. I got to-_

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock.

"Duncan? It's Carly. Can I come in?" I could hear the worry drip in her voice. I didn't respond because I knew she would walk in anyways which she did.

"Hey bro," she softly says as she stands at the door.

"You heard everything, didn't you?"

"Yeah," she said as she rubbed the back of her neck and looked sheepishly. "I kind of maybe sorta stood at the door while you guys were talking the whole time. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. Look, I'm sorry about her. I can't believe she even said those things. Mom and dad love us, no matter what. And I love you sis," I say while trying to attempt a smile.

"I love you too bro. You good?" she asks as she stands at the doorway for a second. She begins to walk over to my bed and sits down on the bed where my head is laying at. "You look like you're in deep thought," she adds.

"Yeah, it's just a lot to process. That's literally a year of my life down the drain," I say with a faint smile.

"You'll be fine, we always are. You got me, Lauren and Miley. Sorry you don't have any brothers your age to help," she says with a laugh.

"Nah, I like having y'all even if you all are annoying."

"Hey!" she exclaims as she punches me in the shoulder.

* * *

 **Courtney's POV** **(06/11/2016)**

Heather, Tiffany and I were standing in the at the counter when we saw Gwen run out of the house. I would be lying if I said it didn't bring a slight smile to my face. I'm not evil but karma does find it's way around.

"Did you hear the way he was yelling at her?" Heather asked giggling.

"I never heard him yell like that before," I say kind of worried but still laughing nonetheless.

"What about during sex?" Tiffany asks with a laugh.

"You always take it so far," I say as I playfully hit her arm. Everyone basically heard them yelling from downstairs and it sounded pretty bad. We all tried to keep a straight face but me, Heather and Tiffany couldn't stop laughing. Lauren & Miley were in the kitchen, I think they were too worried about their brother to laugh at him yelling at Gwen. Lauren finally walked over and we all straightened our faces except Tiffany who couldn't wipe that smirk off her face.

"Courtney, could do me a favor?" I look puzzled for a second but agree to help anyways.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Can you get Carly please? I would get her but I need to watch everyone down here and make sure no other shit goes down."

"Yeah, I got you." I excuse myself from my conversation with Tiff and Heather to walk over to the steps which took me forever to get up. Their house was huge and that was an understatement. It was three floors, not including the basement. There was six bedrooms on the second floor which is where Dom and his two younger siblings stay at, along with their older sister and cousin who crash here sometimes. Lauren's room was on the top floor on the other side from her parents. She used to share it with Miley before she moved in with her boyfriend, which is why it's as big as the master bedroom. She kept the room and all of us crash on the other bed whenever needed. After hearing some voices from Dom's room, I peeked my head inside and knocked lightly so they knew of my presence.

"Sorry to interrupt but Lauren said she needed your help with something," I say to Carly. Carly rolls her eyes in frustration but finally gives an answer.

"Ugh, I'll come right now. But can you stay in here and keep an eye on Duncan for me?" she asks. Obviously this girl has lost her mind and needs someone to help her find it. She wants me, the ex-girlfriend, to help comfort Duncan who just got in a fight with the girlfriend he left me and stood me up for. Make perfect sense.

"No, I will not," I say sternly as I give her the most disgusted but annoyed face possible.

"Please, I wouldn't ask if this wasn't necessary," she pleads with me and I don't respond which she takes as a 'yes.' "Thanks babe, be right back. I owe you one."

"Oh you owe be a big one," I say out loud. I sit on the opposite side of the room from Duncan which was actually far since their rooms were so big, which was surprising considering there are six other rooms on this floor.

"So," Duncan starts to say and at that moment, I'm ready to die from the dreadful conversation I knew to come. He stands up and goes to close the door. "How have you been?" he asks as he goes back to sit back where he was. I just look his way and roll my eyes then turn back to the wall. "I tried to apologize to you," he adds after I turn my face away.

"How noble of you. You think I care? You were extremely disrespectful and truthfully, I don't even know why I'm here. You're a big boy who knows how to take care of himself. It's not like you were there for me when I went through some shit." I stand up and start to make my way to the door.

"Courtney wait," he says as he quickly gets up to follow me. I stop in my track and turn around to see him standing right behind me.

"What Duncan? What do you want now?" I ask annoyed.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"Sorry? You think that'll fix everything like the last thing you said to me wasn't 'I'll be happy with Gwen anyways.' You fucked up, big time."

"I know and I miss you Court. You were my best friend and Gwen isn't. That relationship is so different than ours."

"You seriously think I wanna hear about your relationship with her? And for what? Are you going to tell me how she's better than me too?"

"Of course not, that's just disrespectful."

"Which has been your strong suit lately."

"Look, I'm trying to fix that. But-" he starts before I cut him off with my impatience.

"But we can't be friends while you're with her right? So why even talk to me? You're so stupid and the same person you were a year ago, you only think of yourself," I say as I open the door and shut on my way out.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter but I wanted to end it at this point in the story :)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I redid Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 because I felt they needed more detail so read those before coming back to this.

* * *

 **Courtney's POV (06/11/2016)**

As soon as I begin walking away, I hear the door open back up. I knew it was Duncan. I knew he wanted to talk to me. I knew he was coming towards me too. He grabbed my arm to spin me around to face him before I looked at him with pure disgust.

"What the fuck do you want Duncan?"

"To talk to you but you won't give me the time of day."

"Why should I? Please give me your best answer," I say as I begin to raise my voice.

"Because I -," he begins to say.

"Actually, save that shit. You are a lying, disrespectful, self-absorbed, ill-behaved, simpleminded imbecile! I hate you Duncan. When will you ever get that? I may have hurt you all those years ago but we were fucking teenagers. We're 21 and you still act like a child. Gladly and easy.. that's what you said to me when I said forget I ever existed and you executed that flawlessly. So keep up with it." His face was in pure shock and pain. Just like mine was a year ago when he sent that message.

I immediately turn around to make my way downstairs. Did he honestly think that I, Courtney Gonzales, would give him the time of day? When I come downstairs, I see everyone staring at me. Heather immediately makes her way over with Lauren. They drag me back into the sun room so no one can hear us.

"What the fuck just happened?" Heather asks.

"Yeah, we could hear the screaming, just not the exact words so spill the tea sis," Lauren adds.

"Your brother is a fucking idiot. Plain and simple. He thinks he can waltz his way back in my life because its convenient and he got in a fight with Gwen. What do I look like? Do I have desperate written across my forehead?"

"Well fuck him. You never needed him anyways," Lauren says. Heather and I immediately look in shock. Carly, Miley and Lauren usually remained neutral as they didn't like taking sides between their brother and close friend. But Lauren was right. Fuck Duncan.

"Can we just let it go and enjoy our girls' night sleepover?" I say, cracking a smile. Their faces immediately light up.

"Definitely," Heather starts. "Plus I brought bottles so let's go up to Lauren's room and get super drunk. You parents aren't home right?"

"Nope, they'll be back later tomorrow."

"Then let's get lit!" I scream. We all walk back out and Lauren goes over to grab Carly. They tell everyone to leave out but before he leaves, Toby walks over to me.

"You're not bringing your girlfriend over here to yell at me some more, are you?" I ask laughing.

"No, I'm sorry about that," he responds while rubbing the back of his neck. "But umm..." he starts before trailing off.

"Ummm what? Spill it man."

"I think we should tell Jennifer."

"Tell Jennifer about us? Are you kidding me?" He couldn't be serious.

"No, it'll make everything easier. Maybe she'll hate you less and y'all can find some common group."

"Easier for who? I doubt that. She might just hate me more. Why do you care anyways? Your life is fine and it's not like you even talk to me anyways." I didn't realize how sad that last line sounded until Toby looked at me with regret. We were best friends and yeah, we dated but I didn't know that meant our friendship was completely over. I was never that kind of girl to let some romance ruin a good friendship.

"I'm sorry Court but I had to prioritize and-"

"And Jenny is your priority. I get it. So don't worry about me cause I'm not one."

"I really am sorry Courtney."

"I know, it's no bad blood Toby. We're good." He turns to walk out the door and I close the door behind him. I turn around to see Duncan at the top of the steps. I look at him for a second before returning to the kitchen with everyone else.

"Two exes in one night? How you feeling Court?" Tiffany asks laughing. Everyone joins in, including me.

"Fuck y'all man. Not my fault we all part of the same crowd."

"Actually it is," Miley chimes in.

"Oh shut it. Toby and I are cool, Jenny just hates me. Duncan and I are not cool, I hate him. Pretty simple."

"Okay so what we about to do?" Carly asks.

"Time to get drunk bitchesssss!" Lauren screams and we all join on. Everyone grabs their bag and heads up to Lauren's big ass room. Like honestly, who allowed this? It's literally a second master bedroom. It was uncommon for at least one of us not to be here though during the summer but mostly, it was Heather and Miley who stayed here. We stayed up all night drinking and having no cares in the world. The way my life should be at 21. Not having no shitty boy to stress me out.

* * *

 **Courtney's POV (06/12/2016)**

I woke up on the blow up bed with THE worst hangover. I realized Heather wasn't next to me so I decided to get up. Checking my phone.. it was 10:49am, I had two missed calls from Sean and a text from Toby from last night. I decided to talk to Sean when I got home, I knew he was either apologizing or wanted to discuss what happened. I thought about not reading Toby's text but fuck it, what else I have to lose.

 _Toby: Hey, I'm really sorry again about last night. I know Jenny was coming at you but it's really one big misunderstanding. I think we should tell her so this beef between yall can stop. If you don't wanna, I get it_

Of course, it's about Jenny. It's literally all about Jenny.

 _Court: Just seeing this but I don't wanna talk to her. I really don't care how she feels about me_

I grab my phone as I get off the bed and looked around to see Carly and Tiffany in one bed and Bridgette on the sofa. I assumed everyone else was downstairs. As I made my way to the second floor, I began to smell the aroma of bacon and that's all I needed to get me to the kitchen. I was surprised to see none other than Duncan behind the counter at the stove, turning the bacon over.

"Pancakes or waffles?" Miley asked as she turned to me.

"Waffles please." I walked passed the counter and immediately into the living room so I didn't have to make eye contact with _him_. I sat on the sofa next to Lauren and Heather and began to flip through the channels before settling on the Law  & Order SVU marathon. Bridgette and Tiffany eventually came downstairs to join me on the couch. The episode was almost over when I heard whispers in the kitchen. I looked over to see Miley and Duncan in some type of quiet but serious discussion. Duncan made eye contact with me and I immediately turned my head back. Bridgette had gotten up to go wash her hands and Lauren went to sit at the counter. Then Miley called over Heather and Tiffany. I suddenly realized I was by myself, on the sofa, vulnerable as hell, with Duncan approaching me with what looked like my breakfast. I looked past to see all the girls grab the food, give me sympathy looks before retreating to the foyer to go upstairs, I assumed.

* * *

 **Heather's POV (06/12/2016)**

"So this is your worst plan yet Miley," I whisper as I put the food on my plate. "She obviously doesn't want to talk to him."

"Agreed," Lauren adds. "I wouldn't really want to talk to him either, it's bad timing right now."

"You don't know that," Miley defends

"Yeah, I might be with Miley on this one," Tiffany says. "Granted I was pissed when Carly did this to me, in the long run it worked for me & Cam. Maybe it'll work for them."

"Ehh, we'll see," I said. I looked over to Courtney with her pleading eyes and just gave her a look of sorrow before following the girls back to Lauren's room.

* * *

 **Courtney's POV (06/12/2016)**

"I'm assuming one of them is for me."

"Um yeah. You do want it right?" he asks nervously.

"Duh, I'm starved," I say as I grab the plate. "Now if you'll excuse me." I begin to get up to go to the kitchen to grab something to drink.

"Wait. Courtney please." I put my food on the counter and turn around to see a defeated looking Duncan.

"What is it this time? 'I'm sorry Courtney' 'I shouldn't of done that to you' 'I don't know what I was thinking.' I've heard it all before Duncan and honestly, I don't want to hear it again. We don't all get what we want. And right now, you are the prime example of that. So please, give me my space. I'm saying this nicely now, seeing as my yelling doesn't work. Okay?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Duncan's POV** **(06/12/2016)**

 _But it wasn't okay, didn't she get that?_ I thought as I stood there in silence. I guess she took my silence as an answer because she grabbed her food then walked upstairs.

I'm tired of this back and forth. Honestly, I don't have the time for it. If she doesn't want anything to do with me then that's the way it'll be. A hello in passing but nothing more if she couldn't see past our history.

I retreated back to the living room and sat on the sofa. I decided to stay down here and finish my breakfast. I had lost all energy at this point.

* * *

 **Courtney's POV (06/12/2016)**

His silence is a good enough answer for me so I took it. It didn't matter what he felt or if he even cared anymore, it was about me. That may sound selfish cause I wasn't perfect but it was time for me to be selfish.

I grabbed my food off the counter then grabbed a mini bottle of juice before heading back to Lauren's room. I walked straight to Lauren's room and sat at her desk. Lauren and Miley were seated upon her bed, Carly and Bridgette were in the second bed, Heather was laid out on the sofa with Tiffany on the floor underneath her. I quickly made eye contact with all the girls then began eating my food.

"Sooo..." Carly began.

"What happened downstairs?" Lauren asks.

"Why don't you ask Miley? Was it exactly what you hoped for?" I said as attitude dripped from my voice.

"Look, I just thought y'all needed a calm conversation without distractions."

"Well you thought wrong," I snapped back. She quickly retreated more into the bed after my remark.

"I would like to say that I was not part of this," Heather chimes in. All the girls but me immediately look at her. "What? I wasn't."

"Technically, it was Miley's idea but I don't think it was such a bad one," Tiffany says while making no eye contact.

"Yeah I don't technically agree with the timing but I did it for Tiffany and it worked," Carly says.

"Yeah I know, she told me all about it but that doesn't mean it works for everyone. I told him to give me my space and I said it nicely for once. No yelling, as y'all can tell. I just want him to leave me alone and I want y'all to do the same for this matter." Everyone respected my wishes so we continued eating and just talking among each other. After about an hour or so, everyone begins settling down.

"Well I have to head out. My mom and I are having a girls day so I will see you all later," Heather announces. "Tiffany, do you want to come? My mom said you were already coming over later for dinner."

"Um yeah, sure," Tiffany responds.

"If you didn't bring any clothes, you can always take some from my closet."

"Okay great cause I don't have shit."

"Just meet me at the house then we'll ride there with my mom," Heather says.

"Looks like I'm leaving now too. I'll text y'all later and we need to do this WAY more."

"Agreed," Carly says. "I'm about to walk over next door."

"Back to you real home?" Lauren asks laughing.

"Shut up." About a year ago, Carly moved out the house and in with her boyfriend next door. She had been with TJ since she was 13 so we're just waiting for the proposal at this point. He lives with his two sisters as their parents left them the house when they decided to move to Europe.

"Oh shit, I forgot. Tiff, I have to run over there real quick to give something to Danny," Heather states. Danny was Heather's boyfriend of a couple months and TJ's best friend.

"Well come on then," Tiffany responds.

"I'm coming with," Carly adds. "I'll probably be back later Lauren." The three of them say their goodbyes then head out of the room to leave.

"I need to get going too. I'll catch y'all later," I say as I pack up my stuff. I say goodbye then walk downstairs to throw my stuff away. I walk over to my car and sit there for a second. Do I really want to go home? But do I even have a choice. I look down at my phone to see a text from Toby real quick.

 _T: It's cool, I'm just waking up_

 _T: But Court, it's been over a year of this bullshit. Don't you want to end it?_

 _C: I honestly don't care for the millionth time. She's not my friend and I don't care for her existence since she doesn't care for mine_

I plug my phone into the AUX and begin blasting my playlist filled with Drake songs. Of course, Cameras/Good Ones Go comes on. And he was right, the good ones go if you wait too long so I sang my heart out to it and every other song that played until I got home. It's an easy ten minute drive. I park my car in the drive way then make my way into the house. As soon as I walk in, I see my mom sitting at the counter. She instantly smiles when she sees my face. We were twins except her hair was so dark brown, it looked black.

"Hola mija," my mother says while eating bacon and going through the mail.

"Hola mamá," I respond as I drop my bag at the bottom of the steps. "¿Que duermas bien?"

"Sí. ¿Y tú?"

"Mismo. ¿Donde esta papa?" I ask as I walk over.

"Piso de arriba." I walk over to the fridge to grab a yogurt. I turn around to see my mother's face flushed.

"What's wrong mom?"

"You have mail." I look curiously at her. "It's from LA State Prison," she continues as she goes to make eye contact with me. I should of known it was him. It was my father but I never addressed him as such. He had been writing to me and Sean every since my mom was pregnant. My dad was serving 50 years in state prison for the gang rape of my mother. They were both 18 and she had just won prom queen that night. Her friend, being jealous, orderd her boyfriend and his friends to frighten her but they decided to take it further. The boyfriend was the one who impregnated her. She had told us that he left us but told us the real story at 14. By that time, my stepdad Tyler had been in our lives for four years. He married my mom the next year then adopted me and Sean shortly afterwards.

"No lo quiero. Throw it away with the rest," I say bluntly.

"Look mija, I'll always be on your side but are you positive?"

"You ask this every time and my answer never changes. I don't want to know him. I hope he dies in prison." As my mom drops it into the trash, I make my way back over to the steps.

"Courtney," my mother calls out. I stick my head over the side to make eye contact. "I love you sweetheart."

"Te amo mama." I grab my bag and walk over to my room. I immediately lay on my bed and begin to close my eyes. Just as I'm about to be asleep again, my phone vibrates.

 _Toby: You always been so stubborn Court. Everything isn't about you_

Here he fucking goes again. It's like annoying fly that keeps buzzing around you. An inconsiderate fly.

 _Court: Fuck you Toby cause if it has nothing to do with me then why are you still hitting my phone?_

 _Toby: I was trying to be nice but seems you don't care_

 _Court: You're right, I don't care_

I throw my phone to the end of my bed in frustration then quickly grab it back. Do I want to text Heather or Bridgette?

 _Court: I hate men_

 _Heather: Which one? There's so many to pick from_

Bridgette was good for life talks but Heather was better for boy problems so I had to text her. She always was good with responses which is why I needed her around.

 _Court: Guess_

 _Heather: Gotta be b/w Duncan, Sean and Toby_

 _Heather: Definitely not Sean, you wouldn't text me about him. You and Toby seemed cool. So Duncan?_

 _Courtney: You're losing your touch sis_

 _Heather: Damn, it was Toby?_

 _Heather: What his dumb ass do now?_

 _Court: He's coming up close behind Duncan as worst mistakes of my life_

 _Court: He wants to tell Jennifer the truth_

 _Heather: How you gonna tell her when you still haven't told me the secret y'all been hiding?_

 _Heather: Fake ass hoe_

 _Courtney: Lol shut up. I'm not telling her shit. She's rude as fuck_

 _Heather: Agreed. Fuck them._ _No los necesitas_

 _Courtney: Gracias mami :*_

 _Courtney: I always forget you're part Hispanic lol_

 _Heather: It's like a quarter but mom made sure I knew how to speak it_

 _Heather: What are you doing later?_

 _Courtney: Nothing, today is my day off_

 _Heather: Dinner at 7. Mom misses you!_

 _Heather: Invite the fam too!_

 _Courtney: Aww :* I'll ask my mom now but I know pops is taking Sean and Geoff out_

 _Courtney: It's their guy time aka sports and alcohol_

 _Heather: Let's start doing that. Me, you & the moms. Gossip & wine_

 _Courtney: Agreed_

I get up off my bed to go find my mom. I walk into her room to see her at her desk, as always. She was such a workaholic, which is where I get it from. Even when she's not at the office, she's still there just working from home.

"Hey mom?" I say standing in the doorway.

"Qué es amor?" she asks without even turning her head.

"Heather and her mom invited us over for dinner at 7. You want to go?" She immediately turns around.

"Sí, sí. I was not in the mood to cook dinner tonight," she says laughing and I join in for a second.

"Alright, I'm going to take a nap for awhile."

"Okay mija," she says before turning back around.

* * *

 **Courtney's POV (06/12/2016)**

My mom and I were driving our way to the Stevens house. It was one of those days that I literally just wanted to throw on leggings but you can not do that at the Stevens house. I threw my hair up in a cute but messy bun and wore my black v-neck strappy bodysuit, high waist dark jeans, my favorite black boot heels and put on a red lip to top it off. My mom basically wore the same except she wore her a loose black v-neck and went for a more glossy lip. Heather's family was super rich. Her mom's the editor in chief of her own and highly acclaimed fashion magazine, _Stevens_ , and her dad is now a veteran of the military after serving 12 years. It took us about 20 minutes to get there. When we rang the the doorbell, Heather's mom, Paula, opened the door. Just like me and my mom, Heather was a clone of hers except her mom was more tan and her hair was wavy. She wore a light blue tight tank midi dress and blush strappy heels.

"My favorite girls!" she exclaimed when she saw us. "Come in."

"Hola tía," I say as I give her a hug.

"Look at my niece. Bella como siempre," she says and my face can't help but lighting up. She then turns to my mother. "Y mi hermosa mejor amiga."

"Ay, hola hermosa," my mom says as she goes in for a kiss on the cheek. "¿Cómo estás?

"Muy bien. The magazine is doing amazing." she says as we walk into the kitchen. "And how are you?"

"Lovely and starving," she laughs.

"Good cause the food is done. You go sit down while I grab the food." We walk off into the dining room. My mother goes to take a seat so I sit between her and Heather, whose sitting next to her little sister Serena. At one head of the table is her father Daniel and the other was open, which I assumed was for Paula. On the opposite side was Tiffany, Heather's sister Alex and open seats on both sides of them. Mrs. Paula and Heather's brother Cam then came out with the food.

"I've been craving chicken all week so that's what we're going to eat today," Paula says as she sits the food down. Some of us chuckle at her bluntness, she was never one to shy away about how she feels. The sides consisted of black beans and rice, grilled corn, tamales and grilled veggies. Everybody grabbed their food and once everyone settled, the conversation began.

"So Courtney, how was it being back on the west coast for your junior year?" Cam asked.

"I love it. I missed home and this is amazing area for my career. Honestly, sometimes I wished I stayed home." Maybe then, Duncan and I would be fine.

"And how is the internship going?"

"A-ma-zing. Working for someone as respected as Tom Ford is like a dream. We've talked on a few occasions but it's becoming more frequent now."

"Well I don't mean to spill any teas but we did discuss you when we met up the other day for an event," Ms. Paula added smiling.

"What did he say? Good or bad, I want to hear it." Tom Ford discussing me might just make me faint. Good or bad, it's telling me what I need to keep or stop doing.

"He sees lots of potential. And some of it, you're already living up to. I hear a promotion might be coming your way. Assistant market manager?" I nodded my head smiling. "Estupendo mi amor."

"Gracias tía. Significa mucho viniendo de ti." I begin to eat but Mrs. Paula perks back up.

"You know what?" she exclaims. "Why don't you come shadow me at the job one day?" Shadow Paula Stevens and work for Tom Ford? I had to be dreaming.

"Oh my gosh yes! We can spend the whole day together. Granted she's my mom but interning for her is the highlight of my life so far," Heather said gleaming. Heather wanted to be an editor one day, just like her mother.

"I would love to! I normally don't work on Sundays, like today, or Wednesdays."

"Is this Wednesday good?"

"It's perfect. Muchas gracias tía."

"De nada. Algo para mis chicas." The dinner continued on with light conversation about stuff like school and latest news. Heather and I continued talking about the internship until it was time to go. We said our goodbyes from the Stevens house. I had been smiling through the whole dinner just thinking about showing up for THE Paula Stevens to shadow for the day. Wednesday was going to be my day.

* * *

A/N: Courtney and Heather are both of Hispanic descent. Her mother is full Puerto Rican, her biological father is Black and her stepfather is of French descent. Heather's mother Paula is half Spanish (from Spain) and half Vietnamese but she was born in Spain so she's more in touch with that side. Heather's dad Dylan is full Vietnamese. Courtney's mom Jasmine and Paula have been best friends for about 15 years. Despite their age gap of seven years, they became friends through a mutual close friend.

Because of their Hispanic descent, I wanted to show that so if you can't pick up on some of the stuff, sorry. But here's the translation...

¿Que duermas bien? = Did you sleep well?

Piso de arriba = Upstairs

No lo quiero. = I don't want it.

No los necesitas - You don't need them

¿Qué es amor? = What is it love?

Bella como siempre = Beautiful as always

Hermosa = beautiful

Significa mucho viniendo de ti = Means a lot coming from you

Algo para mis chicas = Anything for my girls


	8. Chapter 8

**Courtney's POV (06/15/2016)**

Today was the day. Today was the day that I get to shadow Heather's mom, Paula Stevens. She was an icon, comparable to Anna Wintour almost. Almost but still amazing nonetheless. She was liked by everyone but her sometimes blunt statements did hurt people feelings. However it always benefited who she was criticizing in the long run. She happened to be in her LA office for awhile so I was lucky to catch her at the dinner. It was located not too far from Beverly Glove, which means not too far from me. It took me less than 10 minutes to pull up. Paula had already arranged for them to park my car so I gave my keys to the valet and walked into the building. I make my way over to the elevator and hit the top floor where she was located as they had it all to themselves As soon as I get off, I'm in somewhat sizable room with nothing but a lady sitting down at the reception in front of the doors to my dream day. The door was covered in STEVENS in huge letters across it, spreading to the walls.

"Hi, welcome to Stevens magazine. How can I help you today?" the perky blonde greeted me as I walked over.

"Hello, I'm meeting Paula Stevens today. She said to be here at 10am." I quickly look at my phone to make sure I'm not late. 9:53am. Just in time.

"And what is the name?"

"Courtney Gonzales."

"Okay, give me one second." She picks up the phone and begins speaking to someone for about 10 seconds before turning back to me. "You're all set, you can wait right here until she comes out."

"Thank you," I say as I walk over to the couch. I wore a loose cream colored cami silk top, dark blue culottes and gold strappy heels. I put my hair in a loose bun with a few strands hanging out on the side. I wore a nude lip, my everyday necklace and brought my mini gold box clutch. After about two minutes, Paula walks out to greet me. She, of course, was dressed to impressed as always and I was in awe. She had straightened her hair to go down her back but had her reading glasses on top of her head. She wore a light purple turtle neck cropped sweater with black high waistwide leg straight pants. Underneath, were none other than her favorite YSL black heels peeking out.

"Hola mi amor," she says as she greets me with a hug.

"Hola tía," I respond. I already know I have the brightest smile on my face.

"Thank you Sonia," she says to the receptionist who beams as soon as her name is mentioned. "Okay, follow me," she directs at me. As soon as the door opens, it looks the a dream. There were people everywhere and they all looked as if they were doing tasks that their life depended on. "I'll have Heather give you the tour after she finishes her tasks but for now, you can come with-," she says before being cut off by petite woman. She looked frantic holding papers and her tablet. She was a bit taller than me, had a light olive skin tone, bright blue eyes and her curly black hair up in a messy bun.

"Sorry to interrupt but Stacy mixed up the ads from this month's magazine and put them in the next one."

"Aubrey, that's an easy fix. You can handle that," she responds confused.

"I would except she sent them out already," she says. "I tried to halt the process at all points but she told me too late. I even tried calling downstairs to get them to send it back up but you know all of them don't listen to anyone but you."

"You're kidding me. Tell Stacy to meet me in my office in 20 minutes and a not a minute off. I'll call downstairs to fix this. And can you prep the new pages? I don't want anyone to touch this spread except you. You can pick one person to help you if need be. But if they mess it up, it will be both of your faults."

"You got it boss," she responds as she walks away.

"And Aubrey," she says and the girl immediately turns around. "Find Heather and tell her to come to my office. She should be done picking out those fabrics by now," she finishes as Aubrey nods back.

"Sorry about that. I really need to make this call but you can sit in my office while I handle this problem."

"Does stuff like this happen a lot?" I ask as we walk to her office.

"No, but things can go wrong at any moment. Being an editor isn't just about picking what's good for your magazine, it's also about your tactics and handling problems that can happen." As she opens the door so we can walk in, I stand in awe at the layout. It was a complete rectangle with glass covering the front and back wall then bright red on the side walls. Off to the back right corner was a clothing rack with her own clothes on it, I believed. Next to it was a white female mannequin stand with fabric draped around it. On the back left corner was a case with magazines, awards and some pictures of her alone, with other respected people in the industry and with family. The front right had a couch up against the red wall with a small coffee table in front of it. And the front left, had a TV branched off the wall. In the middle of the room was her grand clear desk that reflected the light from the back window. It was clustered but neatly filed and sectioned off. Paula had picked up her solid white phone and dialed the extension to downstairs.

"Hello, is this Tim?" "Yes, this is Paula." "One of my workers accidentally sent down the incorrect pages so I need them to be scratched from the project and immediately sent back up." "I know, it is frustrating but Aubrey is going to bring the new ones down within the hour, I believe." "Oh yes, of course." "Okay, I'll see you at the meeting tomorrow. Thank you," she finished before putting the phone back down. "Problem diverted."

As soon as she spoke, there was a knock on the glass and I turned to see Heather standing in the door way. I immediately smile at seeing my best friend at work. She was wearing a red v-neck jumpsuit with culotte leg and the nude Christian Louboutin Iriza with the red sole. She wore her in a slick high ponytail. She had on a on her Alex & Ani bracelets and her favorite necklace, a simple gold chain with her name on it just like mine. We had gotten them for each other for Christmas one year. Except, mine said Princess instead of Courtney. A name my mom first gave me and Duncan later picked up on.

Duncan. He was constantly on my mind since that sleepover. I put my thoughts of Duncan aside as Heather walks over to me.

"Hey Court," she said as we hugged and cheek kissed. "Hi mom."

"Hi sweetie," Paula responded

"Hi Ms. Fashionista," I smiled. "I saw you working hard when I first came in here." Seeing Heather in her element was truly a joy.

"Yeah, I had to pick out the fabrics we want to highlight for our Fall trends."

"Did you finish mija?" Paula asked.

"Sí mama. Aubrey said you wanted me to show Court around?"

"Yes. I have to handle some business with Stacy."

"Ooo, have fun with that," she responded like she already knew what that meant. Maybe Stacy was known for messing up. I follow Heather out of the office. Her mom had decorated the whole place with her own vision of what she want it to look like. She showed me the main work area where most people were at but they called it "the field." Only six people had their own offices; Paula, the fashion editor, the advertising / marketing executive, the PR manager, the art director and the finance executive. The executives and managers split their time between their office, watching the field and heading to meetings across town and sometimes out of state. In the field, everyone had their own desk with their own personal touch to it but most time was spent at the group tables across the room that was open for anyone to work on. There were also three work rooms if someone had a project that multiple people were on. After looking around for about 30 minutes, we walked back to her desk and I stole a chair to sit down in

"So what do you think?" she asked.

"It's amazing. You are so lucky to have this."

"Don't worry, we'll be at the top together. But what's been going on? Haven't seen you since the dinner."

"Well I went by the Harris house yesterday," I hesitated.

"Why would you do that?" she questioned. Her face was already scrunched up in confusion.

"I was with Carly after work and she had to stop there. Duncan was there too."

"What did he say this time?"

"Nothing. And I don't know I feel about that. It was like surprising, comforting and annoying all at the same time." I sit there playing with fingers, trying to not make eye contact cause Heather will see right through me.

"You feel upset cause you love him. You get the most angry at those you love. Why don't you just be friends with him if you miss him?"

"That's your worst idea ever. Friends? With Duncan? I think the fuck not," I laugh.

"You obviously don't like the not speaking and you say you don't want to be with him. So whats the happy medium?"

"I mean yeah but he's just so messed up. I mean like what was he expecting for him to get in a fight with Gwen yesterday then be my friend the next day?"

"Oh sweetie, that wasn't a fight. That was their break up. Lauren told me that he said he was done, especially after that comment she made. That girl is dead to him. Even if he wanted to, Carly would kill him in a heartbeat.

"Wait what?" I was shocked.

"You really didn't know?" Heather looks at me puzzled. "You know for a smart girl with such a high goals, you have no common sense. It's like all book smart in there," she adds while pointed to her head.

"Oh shut up," I say playfully pushing her. "But I thought he was trying to make me some side chick"

"He was probably trying to make amends. At the end of the day, I don't really like him but I'll make it work for you."

"I don't even want to make it work for myself." Just as I finish, Paula walks over to Heather's desks.

"Hi girls, sorry for all of that."

"You fired her huh?" Heather immediately says.

"Let's talk about this in my office," she responds as she turns to walk to her office. We follow in and sit down. "Look, in this industry, everything has to be perfect. And I especially feel that way as it is my name on magazine. That girl Stacy has been making mistakes constantly and I tried to let them slide because it wasn't technically brought to my attention but I still knew. But this time, she could of messed up the whole layout and then our backers would be furious about their ads being misplaced and that's money coming out of my business. I keep this place in tip top shape and you should too." She directs the last part at Heather. She takes a second before continuing. "Because it's going to be yours one day."

"Wait what?" Heather immediately responds. It was right between regular tone and a scream.

"Are you serious?" I add.

"Of course I am," she smiles. "When you told me this was the line of work you wanted to do, I was ecstatic. Your sister could never as she succeeds at a a biomedical engineer but you.. you are completing my dreams."

"Wow. I umm.. wow. Thanks mom, I promise I won't let you down."

"I know you won't." After the good news, me and Heather go to get lunch from downtown then walk back to the building. We sit in one of the vacant rooms and her mom joined us for awhile before getting back to work. I spent the rest of the day following Paula around and helping Heather on some of her work before the day was over.

After I got my car from valet, I drove myself back home. I walk into the house to see my dad and Sean at the dinner table.

"Hi love," my dad says.

"Hey pops. What's for dinner?" I ask as I walk up the stairs.

"Pollo y arroz. Mom's favorite," Sean responds. After dropping my stuff off, I walk back downstairs to have dinner with my family. Between me being Downtown for work, my mom at the office, my dad meeting new athletes for his agency and Sean doing his internship, this is what we have for family time. And they were all I have in life.

* * *

A/N: Okay so I'm going to start doing more in depth for Duncan and more from his perspective. But majority of this story will be Courtney's.


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